Beer Review: Alaskan Amber Ale

Hey everyone, and welcome back to the CSU-Pueblo weekly beer review. My name’s Eric, I drink beer, and I got this one done on time!

It’s been a hectic start to the new semester for me. I’ve just moved into an apartment with my girlfriend and between unpacking, getting the utilities all set-up, and figuring out where the big picture of Tupac is going to go, I’ve been up to my butt in things to get done. There’s still stacks of photo’s on the floor and a couple of “filthy boxes”, as she calls them, to get rid of, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t had the time to enjoy a couple of beers now and then.

It’s a fact of nature that beer and moving go hand in hand, you know. At the liquor store, you can always tell who’s had a rough day moving. Men walk in all hunched over with glazed eyes and crusted hands, scowling and ignoring your hello’s until they have that cold case of Bud or a 40 oz of Mickey’s. When that beer is cradled in their cracked and dirt-caked paws though, they’re all smiles and politeness again. There’s a certain something about sitting on a cardboard box and downing a cold one that we can’t resist.

But I digress. My ramblings have no clever tie into the beer I’m reviewing this week. It’s a brew that’s seen a lot of hype recently at the bars and liquor stores around town called Alaskan Amber Ale, brewed by the Alaskan Brewing Company, based in, you guessed it, Alaska.

When poured into your pint glass, Alaskan Amber has a deep red color, almost juice like, with a foamy tan head that lasts for a good while.

Smell wise, there’s a faint smell of malt, but there’s nothing much to say else wise. It’s pretty non-descript in this category.

To the tongue, Alaskan Amber certainly has a sweet side. It’s nothing overpowering and gives the Ale a unique kind of style of its own. Toasted hops are present as well, adding to the flavor quite nicely.

The aftertaste of this beer, however, is a bit on the nasty side, as it reminds me of the flavor of a bloody lip, and it leaves your mouth a bit dry afterwards. It’s a shame really. Beer is supposed to be refreshing in my book.

Alaskan Amber Ale is a decent beer to sip on a dock somewhere humid maybe, but after a hard day’s work you might be looking for something a little more thirst quenching then this. At around $7.99 a six-pack, it’s fairly pricey as well, with many better choices available on the shelf next to it.